Android-powered Jynxbox ships with XBMC

Posted February 21, 2013 - 12:26
by
Shane McGlaun

One of the first set-top boxes to hit the market and gain modest popularity was the Apple TV.

While Apple still calls its set-top box somewhat of a hobby, it has proven to be the top product on the STB market. However, the iOS-powered device has been forced to contend with a number of Android set-top boxes in recent months.

The latest of these Android-powered set-top boxes is dubbed Jynxbox Android HD and frankly, it reminds me a lot of the Apple TV, at least in terms of looks.

Whereas the Apple device is plastic and aluminum, the Jynxbox appears to be made from plastic. Underneath the plastic box is a hackable set top box powered by an ARM Cortex-A9 processor running the Android 4.0 operating system.

The Jynxbox is also one of the few Android-powered set top boxes that ships with XBMC preinstalled and ready to go right out-of-the-box. Of course, at $115, the Jynxbox isn't the cheapest Android-powered TV streaming device on the market. Then again, if cost is an issue, a cheaper Jynxbox Android HD mini TV stick is available for $85.

One of the big draws of this device for fans of hacking their hardware is that moving the device into recovery mode is a simple task of slipping a pin inside a reset slot while you connect the power source. However, you won't want to go into recovery mode unless you truly want the device rooted because recovery mode can't be exited unless the device is rooted.

The Jynxbox is equipped with a 1.2 GHz Amlogic AM8762-M3 processor paired with a Mali 400 GPU. It also boasts 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB of storage, a trio of USB ports, a microSD card slot for storage expansion, integrated ethernet, Wi-Fi, and HDMI ports as well as a built-in IR sensor for a remote control.

The cheaper Mini version of the device offers similar specs, but only 2 GB of storage and fewer expansion ports.